Sunday, July 8, 2007

Norway or Bust

We arrived at the airport with 2 and a half hours until our flight. But after we got through the massive line for check in, we were looking at a possible reschedule of flight because we had less than a half an our to get through the security line and to our gate before it closed. Thankfully, the security line went fast and we got right on our plane. Zac, Mikal and I settled into our seats and took in the long plane ride with movies and games provided by the flights ‘International Entertainment System’. Before we knew it, we were landing in Amsterdam. The transfer here went smoothly but we were quickly on our plane to Stavanger, Norway. By now, our bodies were telling us it was time to find a bed, but as we landed our eyes told us otherwise. The drive from Stavanger to Vigrestad was exciting as we took in the beautiful landscape with a feeling of euphoric disbelief that we were finally in Norway. We got to Alexander’s house around 1:00 PM their time but he was not there but at the festival that we would soon be going to. My eyes were now starting to drop, however, I was determined to stay awake to try and keep a normal sleep schedule. Lisbeth took us out and gave us the tour of Vigrestad and we got to see all five buildings. Along with the grocery stores there was the church where she and Alexander attend and the school where they attended and Christina, their younger sister, now goes. When we got back we had a delicious dinner of meat cakes and potatoes. Soon after this we headed over to see some of our cousins that we haven’t seen for years and ended up at Fredrick and Turron’s house for pancakes or lempa as they call it. By this time my body had completely shut off and had become disconnected with my brain. I was so tired it became hard to comprehend and follow conversation and it didn’t help that it often broke into fast squabbles of Norwegian. I had never been awake for so many consecutive hours. Mikal, Zac and I retreated to the downstairs and I fell asleep in the middle of taking off my clothes.